Leiji Matsumoto was born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
He's best known for creating sweeping space operas, most famously Uchuu Senkan Yamato. His work defined a whole era of anime and manga, and fans consistently recognize his distinctive visual fingerprints: tragic protagonists, willowy heroines who look delicate but pack serious strength (sometimes literal godly power), and his signature obsession with cramming every spacecraft full of analog gauges and dials. There's something about those mechanical details that just feels right in his worlds.
Matsumoto was married to mangaka Miyako Maki.
He passed away on February 13, 2023, from acute heart failure at 85 years old.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
